Good Times In the VI!

Capt Chris, weather is beautiful
12/31/2008, Honey Moon Bay, ST Thomas

Janina took this shot the other day while we were over on St Thomas। From left is Christopher Burton from Wandering Dolphin, the sea maiden RJ then the kid followed by Lynne and Nick from Wakefield RI.

My worlds all kind of collided recently. Now Lynn and Nick have a place on Water Island which sits right off of St Thomas. It just so happens it is the same spot that Wandering Dolphin is based out of. Even funnier is that Janina met a new friend RJ on Christmas. So Janina took a day to visit RJ in St Thomas while I took a day to head on over to see Lynn and Nick on Water Island. So RJ planned on taking Janina to see a movie on the beach which just so happens to be playing on Water Island pretty much in the exact spot I was already planning on going to. Reunited again. So for good measure we got in touch with Wandering Dolphin and took this shot. I am in the twilight zone. Movie night on Honey Moon Beach is something special. Every Monday the local residents stretch a piece of canvas between two palms and project a movie up on the screen. It really is wonderful to sit on the beach and take in a movie with great friends.

Now Lynne and Nick are just the greatest. I've now known them for 17 years. They own a boat yard/marina in Rhode Island near where I was stationed at Point Judith Coast Guard Station. I took a job with the them on my days off from CG duty to paint bottoms or pretty much do whatever. I have since kept in touch with them. In fact when I had Christa trucked from California to the east coast I had the boat delivered to Silver Springs Marine in Wakefield. Lynne, Nick and Dave Olsen took care of me and Christa during all the upheavel.

It All Happens On the Bus

Capt Chris, 80, NE 25 KNOTS GUSTING INTO THE 30'S
12/27/2008, St John, USVI

The St John Bus Service really is the first time in my life I've used public transportation for any period of time. I certainly hope that public transport back in the states is a little more squared away than down here.

Case in the point. The Pic. Janina snapped this gem right after about a gallon of water created by the bus's malfunctioning AC system dumped over my head and down my back. I was picking about two years worth of rust chips out of my scalp. Of course the bus driver was fully aware of this fact but could care less to warn anyone. I have found some of the locals to be less than nice and in fact dislike every bus driver with the exception of one older guy. Most need a serious attitude adjustment.

One day the driver stopped a full 20 minutes with a bus load of people while she went a got something to eat. Another day the bus whipped around a corner at flank speed sending a 300 pound women tumbling into the doors head first. I watched the doors straining under the load and thought for sure those doors were going to let loose. Of course the driver was texting when this incident occured. On Janina's first day the bus broke down and we had to transfer bus's which really is par. But a new bus experience ensued when the driver passed the town dumpsters, otherwise known as Coral Bay K-Mart, only to slam to a halt and throw the bus in reverse. A full dumpster diving operation took place with the passengers looking on. He popped out with an antique radio. He's all smiles and kept saying "it's an antique it's an antique" and I chimed in "just like our bus."

Like I said it all happens on the bus.

Capt Chris

Ahoy!

Capt Chris, Christmas winds are blowin
12/26/2008, Coral Bay ST John

Janina took this picture of myself and our neighbor Gramm who lives in Johnson Bay. It was taken yesterday on Hawksnest Beach north shore of St John. Due to Gramm we really had a special day yesterday on Christmas. It is a little weird because to me it did not feel anything like Christmas. But it was a great day none the less.

I first meet Gramm the day I arrived in Johnson Bay. He is very interesting and a very very nice person. But the day I arrived he hooted at me from his boat to anchor no where near him. Not exactly the welcome wagon. But he soon came on over and introduced himself and apoligized and simply explained that he really really values his solitude. I totally get it and is the reason many people arrange themselves on the east end of St John.

Gramm and I share one thing in common and that is sobriety. I think when he found this out about me he breathed a sigh of relief as he knew he would not have to hear any drunken 3 am epiphanes in the anchorage. So a few weeks back he invited me up to Hawksnest Beach for a potluck get together on Christmas day. So at 930 am we jumped in Gramms truck and drove along the beautiful north shore road to the beach. Their we met a bunch of other sober folks who live both on St John and St Thomas and some of them are snow birds. An AA meeting took place right on the edge of the ocean and then we ate some good home cooking. It was very mellow and relaxing. No one fell off the wagon as far as I could tell.

Then Gramm took us to many overlooks on the north coast with spectacular views of Jost Van Dyke and the rest of the BVI's. We even went to the very sparsely populated east end of the island. Just beautiful. A great day!

Thanks Gramm

Capt Chris

No Longer A Solo Sailor

Capt Chris, sunny, 80's, light northwind
12/19/2008, Cruz Bay St John, USVI

With a buzz of activity Janina arrived in St Thomas the other day where I met her at the airport. She had a very long day of flight delays and missed connections but arrived in the evening. I did a charter the same day and barely made my ferry connection from St John to St Thomas.

Once I arrived in St Thomas I made my way through the main town of Charlotte Amalie to the Bunker Hill Hotel located in the hills to check in as I had some breathing room time wise. Top priority to was to use as much hot water as I desired and lounge in the AC and watch some TV. So that's what I did.

I bugged out from the hotel in search/knowledge of the taxi situation here on St. Thomas. Pretty much the tourists are treated.....well as tourist's....using tourist type fee schedules. I needed to figure out which is the Safri versus the Taxi as the Safari is a buck and the taxi is god knows what. The issue being the Safari and Taxi are identical and both say Taxi on them. I quickly figured out that the vehicle crammed with West Indians was the Safari and so that is what I flagged down. I made it to the airport with plenty of time to spare. During the wait I befriended a fellow who was reading a USAA statement and knew he'd be a federal employee. Well turns out he had been a Foreign Service Officer for 30 years with all kinds of good stories. He worked mostly in Central America and was an agricultural guy. With funding from the American Government he would seek out poor farmers and guide them to plant crops that had a market demand instead of planting the same old thing. This lead to better economic conditions for the farmer and had the added benefit of crop rotation preserving the soil. Really fascinating guy and even funnier was the fact he worked in the Embassy for several years in Ecuador and this is where Janina draws her roots.

Time flew and before I knew Janina's tired self came off the little aircraft from San Juan. After just missing a large deluge of rain we made it safely back to the Bunker Hill Hotel and pretty much went right to sleep.

Seeing that we would have strained ourselves to accomplish necessary tasks we decided to stay another night on St Thomas. In the morning we dashed down the Bad Ass Coffee shop for some good Hawaiian coffee and the free wi-fi. We then made contact with Team Wandering Dolphin who are anchored in Honey Moon Cove on Water Island. We journey via Safari to Tickles Restaurant and Bar at a local Marina, that Rebecca just so happens to work at. Rebecca met us at the dock in a borrowed dink and off we went to Wandering Dolphin.

We had such a nice visit. It was great to see the gang, especially in such a beautiful cove. The Cove is a white sand beach with palm trees and a burger joint and everything you'd pretty much expect in the Virgin Islands. So Janina and I hung out on the beach with the Burton Family, swing with the kids on the rope swings and enjoying the great weather and senenery. It was a brief visit to Team WD, but we had to shuffle back from Water Island back to St Thomas and on to our hotel again. With a sinful pit stop at Pizza Hut under our belts, once again we were tired and went to bed just about immediately.

As an aside.....I've had an ongoing medical issue that finally got to the point where I needed to see a doctor. In short I have a fungus that has gotten under my nail and has infected my left hand index finger. It started swelling and really looks knarly. So I went to a clinic in Charlotte Amalie and here is what I have. Onychia and Paronychia of the Finger and Dermatophytosis of the body. So I need to get a prescription filled and put some goop on it twice a day. So uncool as I am left handed and trying to keep my hands clean and dry appear to be near impossible. But this incident will be my first attempt at navigating my Tricare Insurance that I get as a retired military guy. Should be a real hoot. Also for other cruisers and would be cruisers the cost of the visit was $185 big ones.

Ok so after all business had been taken care of we hopped aboard the ferry back to St John. Since Janina plans on staying long term she had a bit of luggage which I feared would impact our bus trip back to Coral Bay. Thankfully the big bus was running instead of the short bus. But as is always the case the bus turned in some notable adventure. Halfway up the mountain a flurry of activity and confusion erupts from the cockpit as we ground to a halt. Well wouldn't you know it we had to transfer to the short bus. We packed in barely and just when I though we were home free some more activity could be heard from the front of the bus. The driver spied an item in the dumpster as we drove by. He screeched to a halt, threw it in reverse and proceeded to do some dumpster diving. He emerged all smiles with an antique radio. He repeated over and over about how the radio was an antique. I observed that our bus also was an antique and I believe he readily agreed.

We made it back to Christa.

Janina came to work with me yesterday for a charter trip to pick up the hikers. The weather was beautiful with light north winds. Very unusual to have north winds and could have been a wonderful window to get further down island. Oh well. We did have some more trauma aboard Saddie Sea, but that is another story for another time.

I've very busy as of late and struggling to find time to update the blog and answer email. It looks like I'll be doing at least 3 to 5 days a week aboard Sadie.

More later


Capt Chris

Blam! Adamo Appears Out of Nowhere!

Capt Chris, winds ENE 15 KTS, occasional showers but in the 80's
12/13/2008, Coral Bay St. John USVI

It was a dark evening. The moon had not made its evening appearance. I had my headphones on, listening to iTunes and working on some new playlists when for some reason I removed my headphones. A clamor outside could be heard....a rap on Christa's hull and their stood Team Adamo. What marvelous people! I was in complete and total shock. That very same day I had been skulking on their website and sure enough they were in Dominica with SV Loon having a grand time. So when they appeared along side Christa I think I said "your in Dominica" and they said well no "were in Coral Bay"! I was very confused for quiet sometime. So we immediately went to Skinny Legs for some eats and treats to get caught up.

I wished I had snapped a shot of Adamo, a beautiful Mason 48 with the whole gang aboard but I failed. I did snap this shot of Mike and Philip doing some hunting on the reef at Johnson's Bay. Team Adamo really are the Jacques Cousteau of the cruising world. Each day they light out for some reef where a lobster is just clucking away with his reef buddies and before you know it Phil's pierced his abdomen with a Hawaiian sling. Good eatin!

But Sue, Mike and Phil have pulled chocks and headed for St Thomas and then onto Puerto Rico where their two other boys are flying in. Adamo moves rapidly. They do the town and then head out. Nothing wrong with that. Since I last saw them in Luperon they have been up and down the island chain a couple of times, did an epic journey up the Orinoco River in Venezuela and are now enroute South Carolina. I am thrilled I got to see them again. If history is any indicator they may have to turn around and come back down this way sooner rather than later. That's how they roll.

Thanks for stopping in Coral Bay Sue, Mike and Phil!


Capt Chris

Day Sailing Arond the Virgin Islands

First Day Aboard the Sadie Sea

I haven't had the chance to take a pictures while aboard Sadie Sea, but I'll try and work on that next week. Monday was my first day operating SS without the owner Ben aboard. It is an easy boat to handle, 40ft Linsey Trawler with a single screw and a big ole Detroit Diesel. So it was the normal 40 minute run from Cruz Bay to Reef Bay to pick up the hikers that the National Parks Service leads and sponsors. Of course day one, the winds were NE at 25 knots, so the seas were crappy. Once we got Saddie on the mooring I hop into the inflatable to head to the beach and pluck the hikers off. With the weather, a swell was running on the beach which makes the extraction that much more difficult. I usually run 6 folks at a time back to Saddie. I have to give constant task direction to the people and repeat things over and over again and still people end up splayed into the bottom of the inflatable. With a good natured smile I let them work things out. Dropping them off on the swim platform of SS is equally as exciting as again people don't listen or they just prefer to do things their own way. So I always say just prior to the approach, "always stand clear of the ladder boss." No one thus far has gotten that joke, but I find it highly amusing especially seeing that day by day I look more and more like Cap'n Ron.

So after safely herding all hands aboard I gave my safety spiel peppered with witisisms and I headed below to fire up the engine. The engine announced it didn't have enough power to turn the engine over. Wuups. So I emerge from the engine room to face 30 pasty faced tourists and announce it's my first day on the job. Not the smartest things I have ever done. So with a quick phone call to Ben, we did some things over the phone, but in the end, Ben in true Cap'n Ron style removed the battery from his ailing jeep, camendeered a boat and came out to save the day. Of course we still had to roll in the 7 foot swell back to Cruz Bay. I do have to say the passengers were good sports really, but their confidence had been shaken. I redeemed myself by expertly putting SS starboard side too the National Parks Pier. Little did they know that any chuckle head can put boat to the dock, but for once I kept my yap shut.

Capt Chris

PS: As an admin item please take the time to sign my guest book. Link to the right!

Hurricane 2008 Season Has Ended

As of yesterday the official hurricane season ended. Christa and I made it through thankfully but not without significant stress and worry. As I mentioned before, I just don't think I possess the type of personality that belongs in the belt during the season. In the graphic you can see a pretty fair number of storms. But what you don't see are all the disturbed weather that popped up everywhere that never really developed but are wear on you mentally nearly as much as a named storm.

It was one for the record books. The 10th busiest ever recorded. First time ever a major hurricane was recorded in five separate months. Hurricane Paloma was the second strongest hurricane ever recorded in November at 145 MPH. And of course we had Omar which went the opposite direction of the vast majority of hurricanes. So all in all I am lucky, but not feeling stoked about it.

Wonder where I'll be next season?

Capt Chris

View From the Spreader on Thanksgiving

On this Thanksgiving I have much to be thankful for. Take yesterday, the day I snapped this picture from Christa's spreader. It was such a beautiful day. The wind has eased up allowing the water to be less stirred and even clearer. During normal easterly trades a ground swell can develop but over the last days the wind has been northeast preventing any kind of ground swell. I arise with the sun, crack on a pot of coffee and watch the sun rise. As the temperature warms into the low 80's I take the dingy ashore and make the 5-minute stroll along the beach and round up onto the path and catch the bus, which is on time. I step off a few minutes later to dine at the Donkey Diner and check the weather and email. I quickly gather the local news from the staff, power was out.......came back on.......could be off later.......T-Day fiesta at Skinny Legs....blah blah blah. I love it. I hitch a ride back to the beach and retrace my path back to Christa. But wait, a new boat anchored off Christa quarter? It's Lori aboard Sill who I met in Culebra who knows Jeff and Susan the owners of the mooring I'm swing on. Lori pilots a 25 foot Hunter with no engine, a hardy sailor no doubt. She is in town for the Coral Bay Regatta. After polite chit chat I take a long snorkel trip out to the reef and spend a few moments scrubbing Christa's bottom. I spent the rest of the day reading and eating Spanish rice from Trader Joe's.

But really what Thanksgiving is all about is gratitude toward the folks aboard the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria whose arduous trip across the Atlantic started the whole shooting match. We owe an awful lot to those settlers. Unfortunately many contempory historians like to sling mud at those folks for shortcomings in community relations. The way I see it is Dutch and English settlers got together with a bunch of Indians to give thanks. A ground breaking ceremony of multiculturalism. Lets not forget that just prior to the revolution Britain passed a law stipulating that British Soldiers would be housed in the colonist's homes and the colonists would have to pick up the tab! Think about that! So I feel fortunate I won't have to share Christa with any Redcoats.

Thanksgiving is also about gratitude in general. So I am pretty grateful. Although I do have to say that just because I'm living what could be seen as this dreamy type life and it is great, don't be confused. But everyone has a happiness set point and as long as the basics in life are covered one's over all disposition doesn't change much. I find myself pretty much the same guy I was yesterday and the day before and the year before and on we go. Happiness is a top priority for me. I study the topic and try with all my might to make decision with this goal in mind. When I tack poorly life usually lets me know straight away and I try not to repeat. I'm not successful all the time, but a least I have a plan.

I am bummed I'm not with the family this Thanksgiving, but these are the rigors of my life style. I hope to improve on that aspect of my life. In any event happy Thanksgiving to all hands.

Capt Chris

St John on Saturday

I took this photo from the road as I walked into Coral Bay proper. It is the picture of Johnson's Bay and Johnson's reef where Christa's currently swings on her mooring. In the distance you can see the east end of St John and further out you can gander at Norman's Island part of the British Virgin Islands which is on Christa itinerary someday. It is starting to sink in about how nice it will be to have the next destination just a few miles away or just over the horizon.

I have been sleeping like a rock and usually lights out just after 9pm. The moon is now going into its darker phase so I'm just starting to experience the Johnson's Bay in total darkness. With no backscatter of any sort the stars are a true delight, right in your face. Since the Virgin Islands are small and scattered the concept of a night lee doesn't really wash here. So the trades have been blowing, even at night keeping air flowing down the hatches and the wind generator producing electricity. Good thing as I have been having to run the water maker for three hours or so per day. Since leaving Salinas I've found no shower facilities to speak of ashore so I've had to shower aboard which adds to the consumption matrix. For the curious, Christa really doesn't have a decent shower per say. But I did buy one of those solar shower deals which has been working great. It is a black plastic bag that holds 4 gallons of water that heats up in the sun nicely. In the evening I hoist it from the main halyard and take a shower out on deck. Since I am surrounded by clear clean ocean sometimes I rinse in the 84 degree ocean and then rinse again with the fresh water. It can be a real scene when the boat starts rolling which gets the bag swing which complicates this picture I've painted. It would be best to have a shower partner.

I have found and others have confirmed that the U.S. Virgin Islands are really not cruiser friendly. Word on the street is that the BVI's are much more geared toward people like me. Just take Coral Bay as an example, you cannot obtain or purchase water from anywhere unless you have a car. Just this fact alone would chase off a substantial number of cruisers. Surely you could not have a congregation of cruisers in the vain of a Luperon DR. Even though Coral Bay has a substantial number of boats on the hook, all of them are based out of St John. Cruisers need to have at least some things that are close to being easily gathered. St John has no marina facility and very limited anchoring. Now there are very good reasons for this, but the net result is USVI's are not cruiser friendly. The bays along the north coast are truly breath taking and to protect the reefs no anchoring is aloud. The National Park Service has put in a number of moorings which are great. But at $15 dollars a night the majority of takers are the charter boat crowd that comes over from BVI's. Most cruisers can't afford $15 a night for any length of time and again getting back and forth to the store could cost twice as much as the mooring itself. It is what it is.

However St John may be just fine without us cruisers. Not every island should be cruiser friendly. I have noticed that the people who do come to St John on vacation and then simply never leave are very hard working for the most part. Many hold three or four jobs and are constantly manuvering to make ends meet, but they love their island home. They also love their booze and bars. Just because it is not cruiser friendly doesn't mean a cruiser can't make it here, you can, just depends on your physical condition. Most cruisers are older and simply could not sustain the demands it takes to make things work here. I have been walking 3 to 5 miles a day, sometimes with groceries and a backpack on in the heat. I like the exercise especially since it is to dangerous to run on the roads. As I get to know people I am getting more and more rides. I also use the bus, but the bus has its own issues that maybe I'll write about some other day. In the end, I do love it here whether it caters to my needs or not.


Capt Chris

Just Call Me Skippa

I took a job as a charter boat captain aboard the Sadie Sea making runs out of Cruz Bay St John. It will be nice to put my license to good use. Please take the time and surf on over to Sadie Sea's website by clicking on Sadie Sea above.

Many moons ago in Luperon I met a fellow named Casey who lives here on St John. You may recall Casey really came through in the clutch to help me out with my rear transmission seal. Well Case had told me about his buddy Ben who owns the Sadie Sea and that they could use a relief captain from time to time. You see many people hold six pack licenses on the island which means they can carry only six or less passengers where my license allows me any number of passengers only limited by the number of passengers the boat itself is certified to hold. So Sadie can run up to 37 passengers. So after meeting up with Casey the other day he made the introduction to Ben and off we went. On Thursday I sailed with Sadie on a run along the south coast to pick up hikers who hiked to the waters edge from the Reef Bay Trail. We lash Sadie up to a National Parks Mooring, run ashore in the ships tender pick up the hikers and transport back to the mother ship. Then it is about a 40 minute run back to Cruz Bay. Sadie Sea also does all manner of charter work from parties to dive and snorkel trips.

Ben and I hit it off just swimmingly. He is only 24 and bought the business from his mom who started it in 1989. He is a real business man and I love that. So on Monday I'll do a run with Ben and if I'm comfortable and can remember my safety spiel I give to the tourists the boat's all mine on Thursday. At present it looks like I'll do two runs a week and once the season really kicks in I may be running the boat five days a week.

Now this does beg the question of where do I stand in terms of my sailing adventure. No worries. It's on. Once Janina arrives we shall come up with a game plan for sailing for the rest of the season. We may stay here in St John for a month or two and make some quick bank and move on. I want to remain flexible. Like many my portfolio has taken a real beating and even though I am able to live off my pension, It would be tough for me to pass up the chance to make some extra cash along the way. Not to mention being a charter boat skipper in the Caribbean during the winter does sounds appealing now doesn't it?


Capt Chris....live from the Donkey Diner

Hiking St John

I did some serious hiking yesterday on the Jonny Horn Trail. I lit out from the old church built during the slave trading days of 1753 which also serves as the start of the Jonny Horn Trail. Dodging the numerous wild donkeys I hiked nearly straight up for the first half mile. One thing I have bummed about since my arrival on St. John is my running routine has halted. To dangerous to run on these skinny roads. However if I can keep up the amount of walking I have doing to should be able to stave off an early demise. So the first section of the trail was tough but invigorating. The trail pretty much hugged a ridge line in dry forest scrub land and every now and again a beautiful view north toward Tortola BVI's came into view. At the end of the tail on was rewarded with Watermelon Bay and Watermelon Cay. Pretty much what you would expect on the north coast of St. John. Calm, clear beautiful water. It also is a turtle nesting area and I could see all kinds of turtles poking about as turtles tend to do. I was also able to skulk around some old ruins left over from the sugar plantations in the 1700's. All in all a great day other than the massive blister on my heal!

Capt Chris

Free Flu Shot

Things have slowed down to such a crawl that the big news is I lined up with the locals at the Fire Station in Coral Bay to get my influenza shot. It was a real community event. I came equipped with my thick health record that the Coast Guard kept for me for 20 years. It was supposed to be sent to the VA and I was told that if I wanted a copy I was more than welcome to make one myself! Oh joy what fun making copies of chest xray's at the office copy machine. Just another one of those irritating issues from my military days. The kind of irritant one tends to forget as time passes. They surely failed to show that scene in "The Guardian." So I swiped my record before it could be shipped off to the VA. When I was standing in line with all the hippies I clearly looked very squared away. It pains me that no one including me had a clue where to log the shot in my phat record, but I did log it in Google's snazzy online health record.

I have now been in St John for a week and still getting a routine down. The wind has really picked up to Christmas trade velocity. For the next three days wind is easterly at 25 knots and with the squall activity, at times the wind hits 35 knots. The mooring field that I am in has developed a small ground swell. So things aboard have become a little bumpy. In fact I have surprised that all of Coral Bay is pretty much exposed to the east and therefore the anchorage is not smooth when the wind is up. I suspect that I am spoiled from my time in Puerto Rico. Salinas really is a top notch place in terms of protection. It is fine though. The mooring that Jeff and Susan have loaned me are on three sand screws. To explain as I just learned what sand screws are. They are three to six feet long and resemble a large drill bit with about a 1 inch shank. It is threaded only at the tip. They are then simply twisted into the sand to the hilt. So Christa is riding on three of them via one line that has been nicely spliced in a seaman like fashion to all three screws. I believe it to be a pretty powerful set up.

Now again I can't claim to be the photographer of this here photo. But it was taken from one of the numerous hiking trails on St. John. I was intending to do some hiking this weekend but the weather is a bit sketchy so I wait it out. But the first trail will be the one that overlooks Coral Bay from a ridge line and then meanders down to the north shore to Haulover Bay. I really haven't had a chance yet to do much exploring but hope to do some soon. Mean while I have been working on my communications program. My cellphone is being relayed from towers in The British Virgin Islands at a rate of 3 dollars a minute. But I can get back on to the Sprint tower in Cruz Bay but have to take the 45 minute bus ride and even then I'm on my day time minutes as the bus runs only during the day. I have found a couple of free wi-fi signals that I can use with my iTouch but it is not feasable to sit on the side of the road with said laptop and Skype. But The Donkey Diner does have very good wi-fi that I can use to skype with but 30 days cost $60 big ones.

That is the way it goes in paradise. This in St John are very expensive and the local people have to work pretty hard to make ends meet. I had a philly cheese steak the other day at a cost of $13 bucks and your average breakfast will set you back 10 to 12 beans. On a positive note the bus is only a buck into Cruz Bay and you get free wi-fi in the park. So that is that.

More later from the Donkey Diner.

Capt Chris

Happy Veterans Day!

Good day to all you fellow vets out there! I'm blogging from the park bench here in Cruz Bay St. John waiting for the Veterans Day Parade. Like many things in islands communities nothing is on schedule and alot of confusion reigns. But who cares! I'm a retired Vet.

So I snapped this gem of a picture from the dink of Christa tugging at her mooring in Coral Bay. The mooring sits behind a reef which is from where I took the shot. i did some snorkeling off Christa bow yesterday. The reef was very nice with all kinds of tropical fish and big ole lobster lodged under a coral head. Could be dinner!

My impressions of St. John are just as billed. A pretty mellow enclave indeed. It is much more mountainous than I expected with the roads very narrow, steep with all kinds of twists. This surely will impact my running as I don't think I can handle the hills! Where I'm based out of, Coral Bay, sits on the east end of the Island. I can easily see the British Virgin Islands but a scant few miles to the east. But, Coral Bay is a very small hippie town with all kinds of interesting folks. i have to say folks seem to be very friendly. Right out of the gate Bill from Marlat and another fellow who also lives on the island, Steve have been just great. For a new person who enters an unknown environment there kindness makes all of the difference. Bill took me to Cruz Bay in his ride and pointed out all the particulars, schooled me in the bus system and pretty much welcomed me to town. Beautiful! Of course this tone is in line with Jeff and Susan from Free Spirit who offered me the use of the mooring in the first place.

So logistics will be a challenge as not everything is within arms length. But then again when everything in paradise is easy it tends to be overun which I think is why Coral Bay remains a very unique outpost. But like all beautiful places the island of St. John is under significant development pressure. But back to logistics. To get ashore I take the dink and beach her, walk along the shore line sometimes in the water and at others, during low tide along the beach. Then up to the road where it is a half hour walk to the sleepy Coral Bay village. When it is calm I will be able to take the dink into town. But the good news is the bus comes along once an hour and for a buck will take you all the way to Cruz Bay on the west end where the ferry from St. Thomas arrives. Or you can just get off in Coral Bay. As an aside hitch hiking is standard here, but you don't stick your thumb out. You point with your index finger in the direction your going which can be tough because they drive on the left side here. Go figure. This explains why on day one I was dissed as I had my thumb out! The next day the finger got me to where I needed to be. So Coral Bay does have a small market with everything one needs, some breakfast joints and a very famous open air bar called Skinny Legs.

I think that does it for today's post as I'm tired of tying. On an admin note I've added a few more pictures to my google photos and I know I may have some grammatical errors but I'm typing fast and sitting in a park.

Later

Capt Chris

St John To Port

Well it seems I have really arrived in a paradise like place. But let me explain this mornings sailing. Christa and I continue to beat to windward which as you all know I just can't stand. The conditions could always be worse, but earlier in the week the weather folk were predicting some pretty light wind. That really has not materialized and in fact later on this week the wind is supposed to pick up to 15 to 22 knots for the foreseeable future. So instead of being stuck in the large metropolis of Charlotte Amalie for weeks on end I decided to head to St. John. Anchor was up about 4:15am and I peeled my way out of the harbor with great caution as it is a busy place. The forecast called for 12 knots out the ESE and that is pretty much what I had. Between St. Thomas and St. John is a sound called Pilsbury Sound. The seas were lumpy and chaotic due to a lot of current. However Christa was running strong with a full main and the Yanmar cranking along at 2500rmp.

Now awhile back in Salinas I had met a very nice couple on SV Free Spirit and they had offered the use of their mooring in Coral Bay. Of course I am all over it! So I had been in touch with Free Spirits neighbor on St. John, Bill from SV Marlat who coincidentally had left a comment on this blog saying to keep an eye open for Jeff and Susan on Free Spirit. Another great small world story. Any who as I pulled behind johnsons reef there was Bill on Marlat who directed me to said mooring. Beautiful. The beauty of the place is shocking to the senses. More later.


Capt Chris

New Town New Culture

I departed Ensenada Dakity and sadly waved to Wandering Dolphin as I made my way out of the cut. I finally left Puerto Rico astern yesterday morning. I slipped the mooring at sunrise on a southeast 5-10 knot forecast and light seas for the 20 mile trip to windward. The conditions were a little more lumpy than I had anticipated and it was the first time I've had to contend with any kind of current. Nothing to get sweaty about though, but it did cause the sea to be a bit bumpy. Once I arrived it was a bit of a to do to find a spot. I had intended on anchoring on the west side of Water Island where the guide indicated it was nice and protected. However the water was very deep and where the water depth was manageable private moorings existed. After nearly two hours of trying to get things worked out I started locking up. So I headed straight to the hustle and busl of the Charlotte Amalie main harbor where I am anchored right off the cruise ship dock. It is a little crowded but not nearly as much as I thought and also a couple of boats I recognize from my travels are here as well. Really looking forward to having Wandering Dolphin make the 20 mile jump....so hurry up!

I am anchored right off the newly built Yacht Haven complex that caters to the mega yacht industry. The area has beautiful facilities with shops. I have already located my core needs of coffee shop (of which I sit currently) a bookstore and a marine store. So today, my first full day here in St. Thomas will be spent checking out some sights. I have a small fuel leak and need to find a Yanmar dealer to discuss and buy some fuel hose. Yesterday it rained buckets with some thunderstorms late in the afternoon and evening. Hopefully it will be a little nicer today.

So future plans include me heading to St. Johns likely on Sunday. I have been focused on St. Johns for quiet awhile and look forward to spending at least a month or more on said island.

Capt Chris

Ensenada Dakity Anchorage

Here is an aerial view of Christa's current position, located behind a wonderful barrier reef. The anchorage has multiple free moorings put in by the Department of Natural Resources and is clearly a favorite of most cruisers. I moved out to the anchorage a couple of days ago. I don't have to rave about how beautiful it is, the picture tells the story. I spent a couple of hours yesterday in "big blue" which is my kayak. As an aside, I could have an entire separate blog for "big blue", which has seen its share of adventure. Both with and without me. Anyway it was a very calm and peaceful morning and I simply skulked along the reef and shoreline. Critters abound in this sparely populated part of the island.

To get to town is a little bit of a to do. It is about a 30 minute brisk walk one way. So what most cruisers do is simply spend a few days out at the reef and go back to town in the big boat for a few days to resupply. It would be a very easy pattern for me to fall into. But.....

A very calm few days are in store for the next few days in the NE Caribbean. I plan on taking advantage to make some easy easting. It already has been 8 days since I arrived in Culebra. Tomorrow mooring I plan on slipping the mooring for the 20 mile jump to St. Thomas USVI where I'll spend some time and then it is onto St. Johns USVI. I likely will spend a month or more in St. Johns as I await the arrival of Janina in December.

Have a nice day!

Capt Chris

The Reefs of Culebra

Team Wandering Dolphin swung by this morning in "The Bus" for a snorkeling expedition to the reefs on the western shore. The mission was a total success. The reefs and the associated aquatic critters were equal to or better than what I experienced in the Bahamas. We visited two different reefs each choked with healthy fan coral, brain coral and all kinds of tropical fish. After the viewing we headed for a beautiful beach with picnic tables and had some lunch. Wrapped things of up by 12:30pm just in time for some afternoon rest! Now I have to confess that I did not take said picture. The picture was taken by Team Prudence who have spent the huricanne season here in Culebra. But the picture was taken on the same reef from today and in any event it represents exactly what we experienced today.

It has been one of those near perfect days. Nothing in the future to worry about and much to anticipate, the present is near perfect with gentle trades and many options. I've been playing my guitar and doing alot of reading. I have an evening run and a nice meal to look forward to. More later.

Capt Chris

Happy Halloween!

I continue to get my bearings on Culebra. Case in point I made my way over to Casa Ensenada to get my haircut from an English lady named Karen. Here are the results. My forehead continues to expand in lock step with the economic bailout plan. What can I say I am a retiree.

I like Culebra very much. For starters I think the temperature is 5 to 10 degrees cooler than Salinas with a fresh breeze even blowing at night. There seems to be a modest amount of cruisers and gringos that run businesses around the island. I hate to say it but it is a fact that the gringos simply run more efficient services. This is not to imply that the locals are not friendly. On the contrary the place seems very friendly. I did have a puking incident after a bean dish this afternoon at Mamacitas. I think my body is rejecting beans as the last time I had them several weeks back in Salinas I had the same reaction. So I feel much better but missed the kids haunted house deal with the Burton crew at Abbey School. But Wandering Dolphin and I, minus the kids are going back to Mamacitas for a late night Halloween bash. I'll avoid the beans and dress as the guy with a new haircut.

Capt Chris

Today's Photo

I'm getting my groove back no doubt. Today I took a hike in early afternoon and made my way to a hill with a big ole cistern on top where I snapped this pic. Christa sits amongst the sailboats yander. I also made my way to the library which is par for me as many of you know I love books and libraries. What is really cool about the Culebra library is that Sheryle from Prudence works their. The Culebra library is actually a trailer that runs on a Kubota diesel generator with a very nice selection. Now it may not have the charm of the Boston library in term of structure but it was purchased and then donated by an American family that bought and dedicated it in honor of there daughter who died in a plane crash in 1996. Plus it has AC, always critical to the cruiser in the tropics.

So I was able to gather all relevant information needed for a stay. Located the marine store, propane guy, gas station, laundry facility and breakfast joint. Prudence also schooled me in the numerous reefs to go snorkeling around. Another big piece of news is I located an English lady who cuts hair. I have not had a haircut in 13 months, and I think it is time.

This evening I went for an evening run which is always a thrill when you don't know the terrain, but I found a nice 4 mile circuit around the harbor that has a few hills.

Now I do have to remind myself it still is hurricane season and a system is midway between the Cape Verdes and the Lesser Antilles. All the experts agree that it should sheer itself apart in a day or two. But I am in a much more exposed position here in Culebra, although mangroves do exist here. The harbor is completely sealed off from the sea but in certain directions you can have up to 1 mile of fetch. In any event November hurricanes in this area are rare although pesky depressions and Tropical Storms can creep up. Enough of that. Have a nice day!

Capt Chris

Spanish Virgin Islands

Dropped anchor this morning in Ensenda Hondal harbor in Culebra. Wandering Dolphin and I raised anchor about 7:30pm last night in a near calm and carefully avoided the reef that protects Patilla. The conditions were just beautiful with no moon, the sky a planatarium to be studied and the seas were navigated easily. The test came when we rounded Punta Tuna on the southeast coast where we would be exposed to the full force of the elements if the elements were present. The seas became a little bumpy due to the depth rising rapidly, but we stayed in at least 1000 fathoms and it was no problem. Once thing I wanted to mention is we were approached twice by boats with no lights. It was Customs and Border Protection who have a very robust presence all along Puerto Rico. A week ago back in Salinas CBP hauled in two sailboats with 65 Dominicans crammed into the cabin. Illegal Immigration in Puerto Rico is a serious problem and between the Coast Guard, FURA, The Policia and the Dept of Natural Resources they have assets just about everywhere. So anyway they came whaling on in with a spotlight shined in my eyes with the usual questions of last port of call and next port of a call and all that. Some folks get so upset but not me as I used to be the guy on the other side of the spot light in my former life. Onward. Once we rounded the NW tip of Vieques it became apparent we were making very good time and we'd arrive before sunrise so we eased on back. Pretty soon the lights of Culebra and St. Thomas were present on the horizon. The entrance to Culebra is riddled with reefs but all are very well buoyed, thank you USCG and it was an straight forward navigation detail. There is an anchorage called Dakity that sits behind a beautiful coral reef and has tons of free moorings just west of the entrance, I hope to move out to Dakity in a day or two and enjoy the isolation and clear clear water. But for now I'm anchored just off the runway on the north end of Ensenada Honda in very good holding. Quite pleased with the situation to say the least. But just as I was drifting off to sleep an prop job flew about 100 feet over my main hatch.....that may become upsetting at some point.

One more thing, I was going to do a long blurb on my long stay in Salinas but have decided against it. I have good things to say about Salinas and it served my purposes well, but the drama became stifling and I will just leave it at that. Cruisers that spend alot of time in one place for awhile can identify, clicks form, emotions swell and it usually rears its head at the dingy dock. Genesis of all problems amongst cruisers always erupts at the dingy dock.


Capt Chris

Broke Suction. Rolling!

Anchored Puerto Pattilla, south east coast Puerto Rico

Ahoy. I weighted anchor from Salinas PR yesterday morning and > made my way 6 miles to an anchorage adjacent to the Jobos mangrove > system to pre-stage myself prior to heading into the Caribbean Sea > early this morning. During the short transit to my pre-stage > anchorage I ran up the Yanmar to full power and ran most of the > other systems, raised sail (first time in 8 months) and pretty much > ensured that I had no weaknesses. I'm happy to report that Christa > ran strong and all systems are G. I am also excited to report that > the Burton Family aboard Wandering Dolphin of Rudyard Montana joined > me in the anchorage at sunset last night. They also were struggling > to break the ties from Salinas. It's wonderful to caravan with > another boat. > > Our original plan was to sail our the Boca de Inferno inlet at > sunset last night and sail all night and hopefully make the west end > of Vieques Island by sunrise. But the forecast was for 13 to 18 > knots on the nose of course and a 8 to 9 foot long period north > swell. That large north swell could make some areas of transit > tricky as the north facing beaches are predicting max 16 breakers. > It was not worth it as the forecast is improving greatly over the > next couple of days. So instead Wandering Dolphin and I weighted > anchor by 5 am and made an easy, pleasurable trip 17 miles east to > the little fishing village on the SE point of PR. The trip was easy > with no strain in early morning calm. We watched a wonderful sunrise > as we motor sailed at 5 knots. We had the anchor down by 8:30 am > right off the beach. It is very picturesque. Palm trees line the > beach with towering green mountains in the backdrop. Beautiful. > > So the current plan is to rest here all day and weight anchor about > 8pm and make the 30 mile or so sail to Vieques. If the conditions > are nice as expected and were making good time we may decide to go > the extra 20 miles to Culebra where I plan on spending two or three > weeks before moving to St. Thomas/St. John USVI, St. Thomas is only > 20 miles east of Culebra. > > More later. > > > Capt Chris >

Going to try and Break Suction

Well my time here in Salinas is coming to an end. I'm hoping to make the 60 mile jump Sunday and to Culebra in the Spanish Virgin Islands. In terms of weather it is the usual mix bag. I am very very happy to report the tropics are quiet and no models forecast any type of hurricane formation. So were happy about that. On the other hand, it is the usual story where I need to move at night when the trades are at there lightest...one hope. I will continue to motor sail to windward really until I get to the Virgin Islands. One more 80 mile hop from the Virgins to St. Maarten in a couple of months and then I truly start to trade wind sail in earnest.

Well I'm going to go for an evening run before the sunsets and I will finish this post when I can or I may do another blog entry. I have some thoughts on Salinas and my nearly eight months here.

Capt Chris

Picture of Operation Spyder In

This picture was taken from Christa's bow the morning after Omar passed by. You see Maaktare, another Westsail32 just like Christa and further on is Wandering Dolphin. You can get a sense of what it means to be lashed into the mangroves. Their really is two methods. In my opinion the tactic that gives you the best chance to survive is to use the method all three of us used. The rub is that few spots exist where you can use the preferred method which is to suspend the boat in the center of a narrow channel. You can see lines leading from the boat in all directions to the roots of the mangroves and the boat is stripped of all sails and canvas and anything that would create resistance to the wind. But the second methods is to jam the bow into the mangrove and deploy anchors off the stern. This method seems just fine to me but could be a problem if the wind is astern or from the side which could drive you straight into the mangroves. This is the beauty of the mangroves. If the boat does get driven into the mangroves, little damage would be done, maybe some cosmetic damage but nothing serious. But I clearly prefer the middle channel deal. This is why I move earlier which provides me with the best spot and plenty of time to tie in properly. Plus truth be told, I like it in the mangroves. As you can see it is beautiful, just a little warm with bugs. Not a problem for me for an extended period of time. I wouldn't want to spend a month in the mangroves, but a few days is fine. Anyone who places comfort as a core value wouldn't do so well.....in fact anyone who places comfort above all else would not do well as a cruiser. One must have a high tolerance. So that's that.

Capt Chris

Yikes!

Here is a sat photo of Omar as it spins north east to the NE Caribbean islands. I didn't have the graphics available while in the mangroves. And I guess I'm glad I didn't as that is a scary looking storm. You can see the bulk of the energy to the north east of the eye.

Capt Chris

A Close Call But a Non-Event

All is well aboard the good ship Christa. Hurricane Omar passed about 70 to 80 miles to the south and east of my position here in the Jobos. Amazingly enough we had no wind and no rain. Here is my speculation. Tropical Storm force winds extended out to 115 miles from Omar's center. But upper level winds were pushing all the energy to the eastern side of the the storm, so 115 miles measured to the east. I was on the northwest side. I am not bummed in the least that I did all this work to lash Christa in for not. What needs to be noted is how close a shave it was. Omar reached Cat 3 status and racked across the Virgin Islands. I'm sure extensive damage was done as few hurricane holes are to be had. But a very small shift to the left and we would have experienced the full brunt. Although I am sure Christa and company would have weathered the storm fine, still the destruction ashore would have been a real pain. Last hurricane to hit the south coast caused power outages that was not restored for 3 months. That would have made my last few days in PR a real pain. So today has been spent removing all the chafe gear and removing and stowing lines. Another boat ran aground at high tide, so I spent an hour or so helping them kedge off. Some tense moments for all hands. All in all this has been a positive experience. The water here is much less salty which is killing all the growth on the bottom which will make cleaning the bottom much easier. Not to mention the Jobos is a wildlife refuge and is as unspoiled as it gets. But the bugs are significant. So tomorrow I'll head back to Salinas and regroup and make preps to start cruising again. Wahoo!

Capt Chris

Lashed to the Mangroves

Yesterday morning it became very clear that the disturbance that has been on the my radar for awhile took a turn to negative town. Amazingly enough a tropical low that is now Tropical Storm Omar stopped its westerly advance, stalled and is now forecast to turn around and head northeast toward Puerto Rico. The last time this happened was in 1999 when "left handed Lenny" did the same thing and whacked the Virgin Islands. So after we gained some clarity, myself and another Westsail32, Maktare and Wandering Dolphin with the Burton Family minus Christopher headed out of Salinas harbor. Wandering Dolphin had some excitement as they ran aground. This caused some delay, but Rebecca was able to extract WD from the mud. Maktare and I made the 6 mile trip to the Jobos without incident. As I have mentioned before the mangrove system is stellar protection from the elements. Within the mangroves, Christa, Maktare and Wandering dolphin are situated in a creek like feature that is about 60 feet wide with about 8 foot of water under the keel. Each boat has lines, anchors and chains spidered in all directions that are tied or hooked to the mangroves. Sails have been stripped and stowed and the same goes for canvas. It is a big job to get set up properly. I was a bit stressed yesterday as it seems when all kinds of uncertainties revolve around these system ie will it develop and which direction will it go, cause all kinds of problems for me. Sometimes it is very difficult to know what the right move is or maybe no move is the move. But as soon as we decided to move I began to relax and once we got positioned in one of the best spots I became positively subdued. I slept like a rock last night as tonight should be the same.

So Tropical Storm Omar as of this evening is just 4 knots below a Cat 1 hurricane. Current track keeps shifting further south and east of my position which is good. However it appear that Omar is going to be much more powerful than initially forecast. Some models have it reaching Cat 2 status as it reaches the Virgin Islands early Thursday morning. This means the closet point of approach for me is about 78 miles if it stays on track with tropical storm force winds extending out to 90 miles, I'll be just on the cusp. Also the most vigorous wind is on the east and south side. Puerto Rico should experience the west side. Omar is supposed to pick up forward speed and move quickly which will limit exposure but will create more intensity for the folks on the NE quadrant. So us folks here in the mangroves are prepared for whatever Omar has in store. I'll do my best to update from the sat phone when I can.

Capt Chris

Ground Hog Day

About a week or so ago I got all full of myself thinking that hurricane season had all about died even though November 30th is the official end of the season. I was lulled into a false sense of security as the weather turned winter like here for a week with temps in 80's vice the usual summer mid 90's. In paragraph three of my 10/6 post I noted some disturbances near the Africa. Well here we are 6 days later and check out the sat photo. First off "Invest 97" which is 1600 miles to my east (not in the sat photo) should be a tropical storm at any moment but thankfully looks like she will steer herself smooth into the open Atlantic. "Invest" by the way stands for Investigate. It is a naming convention the hurricane gurus use to designate disturbed areas. So look south of Puerto Rico and you can see a huge blob of convection and stormy weather. That is "Invest 98" which is doing its best to spin up to a tropical depression. It stands a chance to develop.....where? That's right smack over Puerto Rico. Aye Chiwawa. I say groundhog day because this situation is just about exactly what happened with "Invest 93" just a scant week or two ago. In Salinas we received just under 30 inches of rain from 93. 98 is setting up to do nearly the same thing. The silver lining appears to be that the system has some hostile upper level winds which is retarding its development. But all hands need to keep a sharp eye in case 98 becomes a tropical storm or worse. Little time would be available to weight anchor to get to the mangroves. Even then transiting to the mangroves with 50 knot squalls coming through would be no fun and challenging seamanship wise not to mention the lashing in process.

From what I have learned what is occurring is not abnormal and really is in line with the past Octobers. As the season gets later and later the systems struggle much more to become a hurricane. Water temps are starting to drop but more importantly the jet stream dips much lower which exposes these disturbances to more upper level winds and they the tops of the clouds get sheared. Also the cyclone genesis becomes much more concentrated in the central and southwest Caribbean instead of Africa. Although all kinds of crazy things start happening at the changing of seasons. Right now things are so complicated in the Atlantic and Caribbean the forecasters preface their forecast with "I have low confidence with this forecast" meaning everything is speculation. The lesson for the sailor is to pay close attention, hope for the best but be prepared for anything.

Capt Chris

Update

Sorry for the lapse in time since my last post. I have been busy with my new floorboards for the dingy. View them above. So I am very happy to have this project complete as it has been on the work list for quite sometime. To have the boards replaced by Achilles would have cost more than $500 boat dollars. Gulp. This is the nature of boats. But a local fella, Steve took my old boards and fashioned up some new ones out of marine grade plywood. I then spent the week laying down epoxy and then painting. I also had to order the new plastic strips that connect the board system. I know the color really is kind of ugly, but I used existing paint that I had aboard plus the uglier the less chance of it being stolen. Or so goes the theory.

So I have been quite shocked over my last blog regarding the little puppy that popped up on the radar. What is funny is I never mentioned nor ever entertained actually adopting the little critter. Quite the buzz in the comments section. No having a dog aboard would cramp me a little to much, especially a puppy. But sometime in future when I get back ashore I certainly will be gathering up some pets. But let it be known that the little pup pictured has been adopted.

So over the past week I have really been excited about the change in weather. The nights have been cooler and the days clearer and more crisp. A sure sign that the winter is around the corner and the hurricane season is ending. However, much to my dismay, some active weather is south and east of the Cape Verde Islands. Some of the computer models develop these areas of low pressure systems into hurricanes. The experts say that Cape Verde type storms this late in the year are unusual. In fact only 4 hurricanes have hit the Lesser Antilles since 1851 during the month of October. But the ocean is plenty warm even though the water is starting to cool. So lets hope that wind shear or whatever destroys these systems before they even develop.

Awhile ago Brian Kos asked what the plan is in terms of rolling out of Salinas. The current plan is to make the call somewhere around October 15th. If the tropics look calm and nothing seems to be spinning up I'll head out of Salinas to the Spanish Virgin Islands. I then would hang out in Culebra for most of the month of November and then be in St. Thomas and St. John area around December 1st. But all plans are subject to change as always. One thing is for sure, I am ready to get moving!

Capt Chris

An Abandoned Puppy

As many of you know I spend at bunch of time at the Cruisers Galley due to the food, wi-fi, AC and big screened TV. The owner Diasha, among other things spends alot of money rescuing animals. One of the greatly disturbing things to me about Puerto Rico is the insane amount of stray cats and dogs running rampant. I'm not saying that animals should be elevated to human status but the contempt that many treat animals here does not thrill me. A culture clash no doubt. So the little guy pictured was left in a card board box on Diasha's door step last night. A real heartbreaker.

So I am back from my house sitting adventure a couple of days early. I started to have a crisis of confidence that my pre-arranged ride from San Juan back to Salinas was going to fall through. This would have been a real problem that only could be solved by an expenditure of alot of money. So when a fellow cruiser who had a car ( a CWC...cruiser with a car) came up to San Juan with team Wandering Dolphin to pick me up. We had a nice dinner in Caguas and arrived back to HQ here in Salinas as the evening stars appeared.

So thankfully the disturbance that was to my east was destroyed by high upper level winds and things seem okay weather wise. So back to the grid of retirement.

Capt Chris

House Sitting

Aquadilla Puerto Rico



I am house sitting this week for Bill and Kelly. Here they are getting ready to launch into the surf for a secession. Not sure who the photographer is but it is a nice shot of the two and wilderness beach.

I spent some time at Bill and Kelly's house when I first arrived in PR. Quite the adventurous pair. Bill is the only Coast Guard Dental Officer on the island and is responsible for the quality of the active forces grin. Kelly is a pharmacist and they both met years ago while they worked on a Hopi Indian Reservation in Arizona. The twosome are off to the states for weddings, camping, rock climbing and pretty much doing the Moab thing. So I jumped at the chance when they asked if I'd watch their two aging dogs, Small Pups and Wiley.

Just as a quick aside, it really is not abnormal for cruising sailors to end up house sitting. In fact Doug and Cheryl from SV Prudence have been doing just that on Culebra and also our goods friends on Snark, Kim and Dan did the same thing in St. Croix. The danger really is that it is the first step in growing roots. Let your heart not be troubled, Christa and company will be sailing east toward the end of next month. Besides we have a date with Janina in the Virgin Islands in mid December.

So anyway as I indicated in my blog posts last March/April the west coast of Puerto Rico is a whole different universe compared to Salinas. First off the house that Kelly and Bill have bought and improved upon is really cool. I have a love for small cottage type homes. But here is some quick history. Here in Aquadilla is Coast Guard Airstation Borinquen and Bill being a Coast Guard Officer is attached to the Air Station. But the whole area is dominated by what used to be Ramey Air Force Base. The CG Air Station is in but one hanger on the former air base. A commercial airport is also on the base being served by Jet Blue and some other carriers. The base was opened in 1936 by the Army Air Corp and evolved into a Strategic Bomber Base during the Big One and post WW11. Mostly B-52's and Aerial Re-fueling aircraft. The base was closed up in 1973 as per a reduction in force program during the Vietnam era. Two years prior the Coast Guard had moved its island aviation program to Ramey. Once Ramey went away, Borinquen was born. So the left over infrastructure is substantial. Hundreds of small concrete homes were built creating old school neighborhoods. One neighborhood is fenced and is the Coast Guard housing area with the movie theater and exchange. Most of the other Air Force homes were put out on the market and were bought up by locals. The homes for the most part are well maintained. The place does not look like a dump. Bill and Kelly bought one of these homes which flanks the CG housing area and is perched near the cliff with sweeping views of the Caribbean Sea. Their home is really cool, painted in the desert SW motif. Key for me is that it is off the grid. They have a solar array and also a solar hot water system. Very cool indeed.

What I would like to stress is the area is world famous for its great surf breaks and surf culture. Aquadilla faces west looking toward the Mona Passage and Dominican Republic. The beaches are lined with coconut palms, beautiful sand and clear water. Most of the year, when the east trades blow the west coast is sheltered. So I will enjoy my week or so living on terra firma.

Weather. I barely made it out of Salinas two days ago with the flooding. I had to drive to San Juan and then head along the north coast to get to Aquadilla, a bit out of the way to say the least. It poured with squalls all day yesterday. I spoke with the troops back in Salinas and learned of a line of squalls that racked through the anchorage after I had left. 50 knots for 30 minutes. Aye chiwawa. Christa is such a good boat, she rode out the storm and didn't budge. So I have been worried about the anchor moving, now I'm worried it's set so well I won't be able to raise her when the time comes! Anyway for the time being the scope is clear to my east and southeast. Sorry so long winded on this post.

Capt Chris

The Outcome of Invest 93, Puerto Rico

Below is a blurb I pulled off one of the weather sites I blanket.

"Tropical disturbance 93L continues to dump torrential rains of up to four inches per hour on Puerto Rico. Storm total rainfall amounts have exceeded 20 to 30 inches in parts of southeast Puerto Rico where rivers are up to 14 feet above flood stage. Flash floods and mudslides have been reported across the east, southeast, and southeastern interior Puerto Rico. An additional 10-20 inches of rain is expected over western and southwestern Puerto Rico today, due to the very slow motion of 93L. The rains from 93L are the most that have fallen on the island since Hurricane Georges ten years ago (see below)."

That pretty much sums up the current state of affairs aboard Christa. I was supposed to drive to the west coast today, but the Playa where I am is flooded and not passable. Maybe tomorrow?

Capt Chris

Autumnal Equinox

Salinas Puerto Rico

September 22nd is known as the Vernal or Autumnal Equinox. This is the point at which the length of day and night are nearly the same. The sun is now passing its celestial equator on its march south. This spells the onset of winter as the suns rays do not strike the northern hemisphere at such a direct angle. In Short Autum is here!

Capt Chris

Tropical Weather

I should be freakin out. A tropical depression is forming this morning 70 miles to the south of Salinas. A Tropical depression as we all know is the pre-cursor to a hurricane. The satellite photo certainly looks very ominous. However according to the experts the circulation that is apparent in the photo is in mid levels of the atmosphere thus far. As a system becomes more organized the atmospheric turning works its way to the surface. All things being equal, that is the point when wind velocity starts to increase. Also when circulation makes it to the surface and is deemed "closed" it is then upgraded from an "invest" to a tropical depression. Next stage would be a named tropical storm. Things need to monitored closely as TS Fay skipped the depression stage and went to a tropical storm just about instantly.

So the sweat factor is minimal as the system has some hostile environmental factors to overcome plus most of the weather models predict development north of Puerto Rico. However folks on the east coast need to watch out. This is the time of year when tropical systems can interact with low pressure system coming across Canada. The soup that breed the Perfect Storm in October 91.

So right now Puerto Rico is under serious rain and thunderstorm assault. Although it seems more rain than anything. So far we don't expect any thunderstorms to the severity of Hanna or Ike.

In other news, I'm supposed to head to the west coast town of Aguadilla to house sit for Kelley and Bill while they do some skulking. So hopefully I can spend the next week and a half living in a house, surfing and running with there two dogs down the beach. Then again, the weather could turn and I could end up swatting mosquitos while lashed into the mangroves. So many unknowables and everyone thinks cruising is so sexy.

Capt Chris

Weathered Obsessed....Can't Help It!

If you look closely at this graphic you will see that the center of this low pressure system is just to my west by about 20 miles. Crazy. Just a couple of days ago this low pressure system was heading in a westerly direction. Since then it just turned to the north and west and finally this morning due north. Since this morning the National Hurricane Center gave this a 50 50 chance of developing into a larger system. Also the forecasters have been unable to find the exact position of the low which is pretty important as the amount of vigor that a sailor may encounter depends on the relative position to the low. So since the sat photos looked scary the hurricane folk sent out a hurricane hunter.

So being hurricane obsessed I learned today where the website is to track the data in real time as it is transmitted from the aircraft back to HQ. So I did and first thing I read is 48 knots......tropical storm......then 68 knots at the surface. Holy toledo I thought the storm had exploded which is really not rare and of course its proximity makes it stupid to try and head for the mangroves. I did notice some abnormalities in how the data was being posted. Pretty much it looks like a spreadsheet and not all the data in the surface wind windows were being added. Some were skipped. Well the instrument was screwed up! Not to long after the hurricane center updated the storm data derived from the aircraft. So the low center was moved nearly 60 miles north placing nearly ontop of me. Good news! Surface winds are 30 to 35 mph. Can do. So it appears another bullet has been dodged by team Christa. I hate the stress of it all. So current conditions in the anchorage is 15 to 25 knots from the SSW with numerous squalls and tons of rain. As Tom Larson would say, I've got storm madness I've had it before. I think I'll give blogging a rest for today.

Capt Chris

Sold!

I drove up to San Juan a couple of days ago to show someone the Mirage which I officially put up for sale September 1st. Sold baby! I did not gain any money nor did I lose any money with the car. Perfect.

Other than the lingering hurricane season I now have nothing holding me back from rolling toward the Virgin Islands. The tropical conditions are calm. In fact last night was the first time in more than a month that the National Hurricane Center website did not have a single storm or area of disturbed weather. So the experts say that we have entered a calming trend for 7-10 days. I certainly don't think it's time to relax, but toward this time of year cyclone formation historically starts to shift to the western Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico instead of Africa. However that is just an average and really they have a mind of their own. Christa and company will not let our guard down!

Next week I am planning on house sitting at some friends place on the west coast. I am really excited about it. Bill and Kelly have a home that overlooks the Caribbean Sea, sits adjacent to the Coast Guard Airstation and plenty of secluded beautiful beaches. If I'm lucky maybe we can get a bit of a north swell so I can do some surfing. Either which way I'll surely do some paddling. Just paddling out is a total commitment. It is also easy access to the gym at the Air Sta with the coveted air conditioning.

So the plan is to free load at a beach place, enjoy long baths, walk the two dogs on the beach at first light, take many a siesta, watch TV and workout in the afternoon. Sounds pretty good to me.

Another Great Tropical Sunset, I never tire of these

As observed yesterday evening. I never tire of these displays of mother nature.

Capt Chris

Outer Bands of Hurricane Ike

Salinas Puerto Rico
Shot in the anchorage aboard SV Christa. On 7 to 1 scope of chain with a 45lbs Delta Set anchor

Back By Popular Demand...Bubba

One More Bubba

Bloody Sunset Compliments of Hurricane Ike

I snapped this picture at sunset. The clouds have been thickening all day as Ike nears the Islands. Ike should pass about 290 miles to the north of San Juan, so tack on a smooth 50 miles and that gives me 340 miles of cushion, thankfully. I really really feel for the folks that are in the path. I am very gratefully that Ike is tight and compact. Not sure if we'll see thunderstorms from the outer bands or not. Hopefully nothing like the outer bands of Hanna which were just brutal and relentless.

Capt Chris

Microburst in Salinas Anchorage

I was aboard Wandering Dolphin enjoying some tasty pancakes. Kristopher was giving me the brief on his new Home Depot bought awning and how the grommets were holding up surprisingly well. It was then I noticed black clouds streaming just overhead very very rapidly. It was time to head home. Not three minutes later I was glancing over my shoulder as I piloted the dink in an incredible burst of energy from mother nature. The grommets were not doing so hot, in fact the awning was just about gone. At that point I was in instant swells in the anchorage. As I passed large center cockpit boat named Psyche the blast of wind hit it and she went on her beam with the entire keel exposed. I felt what I can only describe as a shock wave. The wind splayed out in all directions, the temperature dropped dramatically and by the time I got back to Christa I was shivering.

When I watched SV Psyche go over on her side I knew something very abnormal was happening. I believe that the initial blast of wind was 60 to 65 knots. It took me about a minute to get back to Christa. I struggled in the wind and sea in the dink to aim her so I could land on Christa. The blue kayak parted its bow line and hovered in the air, attached only by the stern line, then crashed alongside just as I was making my crash landing in the dink. I watched Christa go over on her beams end several times as she came taut on the anchor line. I remember yelling "hold on Christa hold on." I barely made it aboard. The cabin was a mess as everything slide and crashed that wasn't stowed. I got the engine fire up and the screeching wind generator off. I then rigged a secondary snubber as I was worried that the snubber would part and the strain would jerk square onto the windlass which I feared would have been ripped out of the deck. I engaged the engine to try and alleviate the strain on the ground tackle. The rain was driving but I could see that the boats in my immediate vicinity thankfully were not dragging, most were on two anchors. Just then I noticed poor Don on Sunshine dragging his mooring rapidly and heading for someone's docks and then front yard. He with help of a couple of other cruisers were able to get a hook down. Amazingly no damage was done to anyone. I am amazed that my tackle held up so well. I was on a 6 to 1 scope, all chain with the 44lbs Deltaset anchor. I think I may have moved up to five feet. Hard to say exactly, but if I did move it was not by much. I think the wind was steady in the 45 to 50 knot range with the higher gusts. The initial blast was like a bomb. Kristopher watch a waterspout knock several boats over. The weather service reported several known waterspouts in the area. Just crazy.

What is ever crazier is all of this was spawned by a tropical storm many hundreds of miles away. The feeder bands yesterday brought in wave after wave of torrential rain and thunderstorms. Thankfully only one microburst. So in other news were all keeping an eye on Ike which should pass more than 300 miles to the north of Puerto Rico. A very powerful but compact storm. At current track I'm not sure we will feeling any effects. Lets hope not!

Capt Chris

Squalls Spawned by Tropical Storm Hanna

Somthing to Be Concerned About

The month of September is always the most active time for hurricane development. Right on schedule a spasm of tropical activity is cooking to the east of my neighborhood. You can see Tropical Storm Ike bearing down on the island chain. Things can be very tricky in the forecasting department. As shown in Gustav forecasting, the hurricane specialists were good at forecasting storm tracks but shaky on intensity. What can you do. Science is pretty good but still anything passed 72 hour forecasts are highly suspect. Ike is forecast to pass from 100 to 300 miles north of Puerto Rico. The forecasters have a high degree of confidence with this track. When confusion exists, such as with Hannah, which took a 90 degree turn to the south, the forecasters will say ambiguity exists. So far so good, plus Salinas sits about 90 miles from the north shore of PR, with large mountains in between. This provides a little more cushion. As always, Semper Paratus, I'm ready to move to the mangroves as needed.

Tropical Storm Josephine formed this morning near the Cape Verde Islands. It is very far away and has some cooler patches of water and windshear to deal with in a few days which could slow it up. However the track appears to be following a similar path as Ike. So I won't be doing much over the next couple of weeks except watching and discussing weather with my fellow cruisers. We spend alot of time speculating. So far I feel fortunate, Puerto Rico has been spared and am optimistic we'll get through this season unscathed. Although I have learned about myself that I may not be geared to be in the hurricane belt during hurricane season regardless of the availability of mangroves. I think next h-season next year will be spent outside the hurricane belt. More later.

Capt Chris

My trip to PR

Sorry everyone for not writing any sooner. Ever since coming back from Puerto Rico I have been busy. I have been working working, preparing for my dive certification, and preparing for my next three month adventure on American Cruise Line. I will be moving up to Bangor, ME and traveling down the inner coastal waterway of the East Coast.

Thank goodness I took off a week to visit my sailor man Chris in Salinas, Puerto Rico. My arrival to Puerto Rico last Tuesday was not all pleasant. Due to Fay there was a lot of turbulence on my flight. You could imagine once I made it to land how pleased I was. Even better when I saw Chris. Chris took me to an amazing hang out called Pinky's. Pinky's menu was simple and healthy. I had a turkey wrap with mozzarella cheese and tomatoes. Chris had a bagel with cream cheese and lox. After our luncheon we headed back to Salinas. Being back in Salinas brought back some memories from my last visit in March of 08.

After settling in with Chris and S/V Christa, I felted relaxed. We headed to the Cruisers Galley and I met an amazing family from Wondering Dolphin. "Mrs. Sandra" from Wondering Dolphin had prepared an amazing dinner at the Cruisers Galley for her customers. On Tuesday night she prepares meat loaf, on Thursday she has movie night with pasta, and on Sunday she puts out a spectacular brunch of fresh fruits and Eggs Benedict with a side of potato hash. Believe it or not, but this was my first Eggs Benedict. I love to cook so I now it's all about the Hollendase sauce. Now I see why this is one of Chris's favorite dishes. Thank you "Mrs. Sandra" and your side kick husband for an amazing time at the Cruisers Galley.

My trip did not just consist of food of course, even though I don't mind. Chris and I did have a chance to sight see a little around Puerto Rico. We got to visit Coamo, Ponce, Patillas, San Juan, and Old San Juan. We spent a day in Coamo visiting a hot springs pool believed to be the fountain of youth. This particular spring was discovered by Ponce de Leon. I could say that Chris and I looked 10 years younger after dipping into the steaming hot springs. Boy am I lucky! :-) Even though the hot springs were not well kept, the place still had charm with a rustic feel to it. There were lush green mountains and an abundance of one of my favorite colorful plants the bougainvillea.

After our trip to Coamo, we took out another adventure to Patillas to check out the beach and Chris's next possible anchorage. On our way to Patillas we stop at a local restaurant called "Tranquil". The restaurants ambiance was awesome. Its patio faces the big blue waters of the ocean. While waiting for our food we decided to relax under two huge trees in a hammock. There was a nice breeze and Latin beats playing in the background. We would of loved to stay longer at the restaurant but we had a city to discover.

On another sunny day we headed over to Ponce. Downtown Ponce was a mission to find. We ended up asking at least two people for direction before we stroke gold. Downtown Ponce reminded us of Old San Juan. Ponce is the second largest city to San Juan. Also, the first Fire Station for Puerto Rico was establish in Ponce. You want to experience full history Ponce is the place to go. The City is not overwhelmed with tourist so you will have more of a better chance to socialize with the locals.

My last day in Puerto Rico was spent in San Juan. Chris and I visited the two famous Forts, El Morro (covers 200 acres) and San Cristobal(covers 27 acres). To our surprise, admission to both Forts was only $5.00. What a deal to visit a little piece of history. The Forts admission welcomes you back within the week again (up to 7 days). I suggest for those who pass through this area pack a picnic and enjoy the surroundings. Old San Juan is filled with a variety of restaurants and shops. Once again we would of loved to walk around the city more, but we were drenched by the heavy rain and we were hungry. We headed back to the hotel to change to warm cloths so that we could have a nice dinner. It was a nice dinner for Chris since he was desiring to have some sushi. I on the other hand had curry chicken. Not such a great idea to eat chicken in a Chinese restaurant. The next day my stomach was turning and you could imagine the rest. It took me two days to recover after I left Puerto Rico.

Even though my last day in Puerto Rico was not all pleasant, I was glad to have visited Chris in Salinas, Puerto Rico. I got to get to know him a little more. Over all we laughed at each others silliness and just relaxed. Hopefully if all goes well, I will join Chris on his next journey this winter.

Talk to you all soon

Janina